Communications gear approved for disasters

Forsyth County officials want to ensure public safety communications stay intact should disaster strike. During its first meeting of 2017, the Board of Commissioners gave final approval to a maximum $205,500 contract with Mobile Satellite Technologies Inc. for two fully-equipped internet-connected emergency communications trailers and a $233,000 deal with Motorola Solutions Inc. for radio equipment.

County officials said the trailers could be deployed to various spots should a disaster affect county radio tower sites on Sawnee Mountain. The trailers could be used on the county’s north or south sides to fill in localized communications gaps or at Sawnee Mountain itself if disaster rendered the sites there inoperable.MARK

South Cobb Diner may open in March

A companion restaurant to West Cobb Diner is expected to open in downtown Austell in March, according to Austell Mayor Joe Jerkins.

Jerkins told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday that South Cobb Diner will open in a city building at 5850 Love St. to be leased and later sold to the restaurant.

The city is spending $229,000 to ready the interior with all new plumbing and five air-conditioning units, Jerkins said.

Funding is from interest earned on the city’s $5 million Norfolk Southern railroad settlement when the Austell intermodal facility was constructed at U.S. 278 and 6000 Dr. Luke Glenn Garrett Jr. Memorial Highway.

Known for such Southern dishes as tomato pie, West Cobb Diner is at 3451 Ernest Barrett Parkway in Marietta.

Information: WestCobbDiner. com.

Marietta Tree Keepers planting event. 9 a.m. Saturday. Free. Marietta City Cemetery, Brown Park, 358 W. Atlanta St., Marietta. Tools, gloves, doughnuts, hot chocolate and hot coffee will be provided. Since its founding in 2002, MTK has planted 5,500 trees. 770-424-4664, MariettaGA. gov/committees/treekeepers.

Acworth’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration and Day of Service by the city’s Parks, Recreation and Community Resource Department. 10 a.m. Monday. Free. Bethel AME Church, 4826 School St., Acworth. Mychal Lewis at mlewis@acworth.org.